Kemurikage (Earth-5291)
The Kemurikage (煙影) are spirits that haunted warlords in the Fire Lands prior to the formation of the Land of Fire. They went to become part of Land of Fire folklore after departing from the Mortal Realm, feared by children across the country, from Konohagakure to Republic City duo to their supposed abduction of young individuals who misbehave. History Origins Prior to the establishment of the Land of Fire, the disaggregated Fire Lands were the subject to a series of territorial wars controlled by warlords, known for their lust for blood and ruthlessness. Toz was the most notorious of them all, controlling several villages of his own, which he demanded tributes regardless of lack of resources. encampment.]] One year, one of the villages under his control refused to provide Toz with tribute, leading him to kill all of the village's children as punishment, leading the mothers of the children to later die from sadness. Shortly after, the Kemurikage emerged, and began haunting Toz and his men, drifted into the warlord's encampment in the middle of the night and taking all of their children. As a result, Toz's men abandoned him out of fear for the dark spirits, leading his regime to collapse. Even after Toz's downfall, the Kemurikage continued to haunt other warlords for centuries until the Fire Lands were united as the Land of Fire under its first Fire Lord. Folklore The Kemurikage became part of the Land of Fire's folklore, being immortalized in a mural that depicted the history of the country within the Dragonborne Catacombs. Their origin story was written on a scroll outside the crypt of the first Fire Emperor, with whom they remained closely associated with. While the scroll suggested that the Kemurikage continued to haunt the Land of Fire duo to their "insatiable sadness", they had actually returned to the Spirit World following the unification of the land and the annexation of the islands. Their legend evolved over time as a way to build fear and deter misconduct among children in the Land of Fire. Parents from Republic City to Konohagakure told the story of how the Kemurikage were a group of spirits who lived in the mountains and came at night to abduct children who disobeyed their parents. Michi and Ukano were told of this fable as children, and passed it down to their children, Mai and Pingping years later. Impersonation and reawakening In 128 AG, a group of mercenary shinobi from Kumogakure led by Azula impersonated the Kemurikage and manipulated Ukano into assisting them in overthrowing Fire Lord Zuko and the Sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake. In order to coerce him, the shinobi kidnapped Pingping, attracting the attention of Mai and Zuko, who then hired of Team Kakashi given the apparent involvement of dark spirits and the team's experience in dealing with them. Naruto Uzumaki, however, insisted they would work for free given his friendship with Zuko. .]] Alongside Mai, Zuko and Kei Lo, Team Kakashi visited the Dragonborne Catacombs underneath the Fire Sages Capital Temple, where they learned about the history of the Kemurikage from a mural that depicted the history of the Land of Fire. After Mai read a scroll detailing the Kemurikage's origins, a smoke emerged from the mural, leading Naruto to a sealed crypt in which the first Fire Lord was buried. Moments later, the smoke morphed into the sillhouete of a woman, who addressed naruto as the Avatar before recounting the story of herself and her sisters. The spirit insisted that their sadness ended as a result of the actions of the first Fire Lord, which brought the warlords to justice and ushered an era of temporary relative peace. She then reiterated the fact that the Kemurikage had not set foot in the Shinobi World ever since the unification of the Fire Lands, leading Naruto to conclude that Pingping's kidnapers were impostors. Abilities The Kemurikage were able to generate clouds of smoke to rapidly move themselves from one place to the other. Much like many other spirits, they could disssipate at any given time to travel between the Spirit World and Shinobi Worlds. The Kemurikage are also capable of conjuring images, as one of them projected an image of the first Fire Lord while talking with Naruto Uzumaki. Agile spirits, the Kemurikage drifted and abducted others during the night. Trivia *Kemuri (煙) means "smoke", and kage (影) means "shadow" in Japanese. *The Kemurikage are the only known individuals known to have transcended into the Spirit World after their deaths, a trait they share with the Painted Lady and Jiraiya. Unlike the other two, the Kemurikage turned dark. *The Kemurikage are the second known spirits to be impersonated by humans, with the first being the Painted Lady, who was impersonated by Katara. *The Kemurikage's habit of abducting misbehaving children is similar to the habits of the Bogeyman and Krampus in Central Europe. Category:Earth-5291 Category:Characters of Earth-5291 Category:Females of Earth-5291 Category:Spirits of Earth-5291 Category:Spirit World (Earth-5291) Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Ghosts Category:Deceased Category:Created by Draft227